The invention relates to the field of network monitoring and supervision application. Educational institutions often provide computers and network access to their students and teachers to facilitate instruction. For example, students and teachers may each be provided with a computer system or other electronic communications device, such as a tablet computer or personal digital assistant. Each student and/or teacher may use their assigned device for some or all of their classes and assignments. In another example, a specific classroom may include computer systems or other devices for use by all of the students assigned to that classroom for one or more classes. In yet another example, a set of computer systems or other devices may be assigned to a cart or cabinet that can be moved to different classrooms according to the needs of students and teachers.
One downside with incorporating computers and other devices in educational environments is that teachers or other instructors often need to monitor the network usage of their students. For example, when a class begins, the teacher may instruct the students to start their computers and access a specific web site. After providing these instructions, the teacher must then walk around the classroom to verify that all of the students' computers have successfully connected to the network and are viewing the specified web site. As the class continues, the teacher may need to frequently patrol the classroom to ensure that all of the students are using their computers in an appropriate manner. The time and effort required to monitor and supervise students' network usage reduces the time and quality of classroom instruction.
Prior systems for monitoring and supervising students' network usage rely on monitoring applications installed on each student's computer. Because these monitoring applications are installed and executed on students' computers, they must be compatible with the hardware, operating system, and software configuration of these computers or other devices. This increases the administrative overhead required to deploy and maintain student computers and limits the types of devices that can be provided to students. Additionally, installing monitoring applications on students' computers can create privacy issues. In some cases, teachers and school administrators may be liable for violating student privacy rights if the monitoring applications are activated outside of school, such as at a student's home.
Additionally, traditional network monitoring applications are tailored towards the needs of system administrators. The user interface and type of information of these prior network monitoring applications is intended for computer-literate and technically sophisticated users. The interface and type of information provided by these applications may be unsuitable for many teachers and school administrators. Furthermore, traditional network monitoring applications identify users and client network devices by hardware attributes, such as MAC addresses, or user attributes, such as user login identifications. However, these prior network monitoring applications do not organize network information in manner relevant to teachers and school administrators, such as by classes, class schedules, or classrooms.